Health care discussions and treatment for urinary incontinence in U.S. women

The objective of the study was to determine the proportions of women with urinary incontinence who had discussed their condition with a health care provider or received treatment and to identify factors associated with seeking health care.

The study was a population-based, age-stratified postal survey of 6000 women aged 30 to 90 years enrolled in a large health maintenance organization in Washington state.

The response rate was 64% (n = 3536) after applying exclusion criteria. Eighty percent (n = 1160) of women with urinary incontinence completed a detailed set of questions on care seeking and treatments. Fifty percent had discussed their incontinence with a health care provider, 21% reported receiving surgery or prescription medication, 10% reported performing Kegel exercises, and 48% reported wearing a pad to absorb urine daily or weekly. The following factors were significantly associated with odds of discussing urinary incontinence with a health care provider: age (50 to 69 years, adjusted odds ratio 1.5 [1.1 to 2.0]; 70 to 89 years, adjusted odds ratio 1.9 [1.4, 2.7]); duration of urinary incontinence (2 to 5 years, adjusted odds ratio 1.9 [1.3 to 2.8]; more than 5 years, adjusted odds ratio 2.8 [2.0,4.1]); severe urinary incontinence (adjusted odds ratio 1.7 [1.2 to 2.6]); and greater effect on daily activities (adjusted odds ratio 2.7 [1.9,3.8]).

Among women with urinary incontinence, one half have discussed their incontinence with a health care provider and one third have received any form of treatment.